Mobile data communications techniques described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/817,994, entitled “Peer-to-Peer Instant Messaging Method and Device” (the '994 Application”) teach embedding an IP address into a message that is transmitted through a page-mode messaging service, such as Short Message Service (SMS), in order to establish a virtual connection, such as a TCP connection between mobile devices in order to exchange data for any purposes, including for instant messaging (IM).
However, when a user is actively engaged or focused t a more stationary terminal, such as a laptop, desktop or workstation, diverting his attention from the stationary terminal in order to answer or otherwise use his mobile device (e.g., smart phone) for communications purposes or to receive or send data becomes inconvenient.
From a networking perspective, as of the date of this disclosure, the bandwidth and transmission speeds of mobile networks which rely on wireless cellular telephony radio technologies such as 2.5G and 3G are still significantly less than that achieved by more traditional broadband networks such those accessed by DSL, cable modems and Wi-Fi radio technologies. As such, what is needed is a technique to utilize the broadband networks accessible by stationary terminals for communications that are initiated through mobile devices using wireless cellular telephone radio technologies in order to provide smoother integration from being mobile to being stationary.